I have been thinking about buying this pad for a few years and have passed on it because of the price. Now that I finally decided to buckle down and buy it, I couldn't be happier with it! I've had and tried the cheaper pads. $25 for the flat plastic pad which is obviously the worst pad in existence, but I guess you get what you pay for. Play 1 song, and the pad is either bunched up, 5ft from where you started, and don't even think about playing it on heavy mode. Then I upgraded to the $75 1" foam pad, thinking it would be the game changer. Another huge disappointment, ends curled up, causing missed steps, pad didn't move as much, but still moved to much. Heavy songs will require you to adjust the pad after every single song, and you will still miss a ton of steps and get D's and C's if your lucky on heavy mode. I Thought the only good mats were the ones at the arcade. So I played at the arcade alot spending $15 to $20 per session for something I didn't own. It adds up if you go a few times a week. Then later on i did some research about getting something as good. There are pads out there that cost 2K+ and if you want a cabinet, it jumps to 5K+. Way out of the average persons price range. Not to mention you need ALOT of room for a cabinet set up. The 2K+ pads arent all that either, ...if you can even get them, as they are typically on back order and never in stock, which I found to be extremely frustrating. Some reviews rave about them, others complain. Read alot of reviews on how they break down and require upgrades or new parts and can be a real headache, the need to replace sensors, add pennies for better sensitivity, etc. Just more money you have to spend on something that already cost you a small fortune. A quality piece of machinery that cost over 2k should not need to be modded and should be good for a long time. Then later down the line I found these LTEK pads with a handlebar for just over $800. Still a bit high but alot more reasonable. The turn off was they were really geared to PC play. I wanted to play the old school PS2 games so I shunned it off. A few years later, they came out with an adapter for the PSX/PS2 and I was happy to see that, but I wanted to see if it really worked so I waited another year or so, and then read more reviews. I Haven't read 1 bad review of an LTEK pad and I've read HUNDREDS of reviews. People do complain about the handle bar, but others say the bar is decent. I finally decided to get the pad and take the chance on the handlebar with the PSX/PS2 adapter. Set it all up and played DDRMAX2. The timing was off for the first 20 songs, then all of the sudden, it was spot on timing as if it needed to be broken in. I couldn't believe it! I'm getting double A grades on light mode and A's on heavy 7's and 8's. The pad is so stationary, it does not move at all and feels pretty close to the arcade. 400+ songs in, and I have not had to readjust the placement of the pad! Nothing can match the arcade pads but this is as close as you can get for under $1K. DDR is fun again!! I'm so impressed with this LTEK!! The handle bar was a bit awkward at first but I'm getting use to it and now I actually like it. Might add some grip tape or foam wrap to it for even more stability. The bar does flex a little bit but it doesnt effect gameplay once you get use to it, and even the arcade handle bar flexes so its no big deal. They have upgraded the handle bar since it first came out years ago and it is pretty sturdy in my opinion. Reviews do reflect this, as old reviews from years past say they needed to add weights to the rear for stability. But they have since added supports to stop the need for that. Smart move on LTEKs part. Now that I actually own this, I couldn't be happier with the purchase. Some reviews say you need to penny mod this pad for heavy 8's, 9's, and 10's too, but I don't think so unless your using the corners for really hard songs, which in my opinion defeats the purpose of getting a good workout by actually stepping on the full arrows. The other downside to the penny mod is it raises the arrows up to where there flush with the rest of the pad. This takes away the arcade feel which I'm strongly against. I'll just get good enough to beat the hard songs without the penny mod. And Like I said before, you shouldn't have to mod a pad that's well built. This LTEK pad is well built, strong and sturdy, has impeccable timing, does not move, and will not disappoint, especially if your more of a casual player, you will LOVE this pad. Best money I've spent in a long time! You will not regret it! You get what you pay for! Buy it from DDRpad.com if you live in the US. You will get it in days where if you buy it from Poland, it has to go through customs, travel over water, and you will wait a month before you get it. I didn't want to wait that long, ordered mine and got it in 3 days. I couldn't be happier!!
